Questions for Packer fans?

Hi there, Im from Toronto and a new Packers fan. That is because Im relatively new to North America. I lived in South Africa where Rugby is huge, but we didnt get much Football coverage there. I wanted to ask a few questions about the Packers as I can see you are knowledgeable fans here and I'm trying to learn as much as I can about this great team.

At times during the games at Lambeau Field I can see on TV that there are many fans that wear orange jackets and other orange clothes, I was wondering if this has any thing at all to do with the Packers.

I was litsening on a Wisconsin sports radio show on the net a few days back and they were saying that before 92, I presume when Favre came around, the Packers were in troubled times. I presume because of the poor play in the 70's and 80's and they said further that at that point the Brewers were probably bigger than the Packers in Wisconsin. The hosts were dicussing that because they were saying that they didint want to go back to those times if the team gets bad in the next few years. Lets all hope that dosent happen and I have every confidence that it wont. It seems strange though because the Packers have had sellouts since 1960 if I'M not mistaken so it seems unlikely and hard to believe that the Brewers would be bigger than the Packers. I suppose those of you that live in Wisconsin or near Green Bay would know more about this. Thanks, I appreciate any input.

Hi there, Im from Toronto and a new Packers fan. That is because Im relatively new to North America. I lived in South Africa where Rugby is huge, but we didnt get much Football coverage there. I wanted to ask a few questions about the Packers as I can see you are knowledgeable fans here and I'm trying to learn as much as I can about this great team.

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Hey! I am from just outside Toronto as well. Welcome to Canada and to the greater Packers fraternity!

torontopack said:

At times during the games at Lambeau Field I can see on TV that there are many fans that wear orange jackets and other orange clothes, I was wondering if this has any thing at all to do with the Packers.

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The blaze orange clothes are used in North America for big-game hunting. Fans at Lambeau often wear them to the games as they tend to be very warm as hunting seasons run from around October to December in North America. As the temperatures can be very cold during Wisconsin's fall and winter, some fans wear these clothes to the games for the warmth they provide.

torontopack said:

I was litsening on a Wisconsin sports radio show on the net a few days back and they were saying that before 92, I presume when Favre came around, the Packers were in troubled times. I presume because of the poor play in the 70's and 80's and they said further that at that point the Brewers were probably bigger than the Packers in Wisconsin. The hosts were dicussing that because they were saying that they didint want to go back to those times if the team gets bad in the next few years. Lets all hope that dosent happen and I have every confidence that it wont. It seems strange though because the Packers have had sellouts since 1960 if I'M not mistaken so it seems unlikely and hard to believe that the Brewers would be bigger than the Packers. I suppose those of you that live in Wisconsin or near Green Bay would know more about this. Thanks, I appreciate any input.

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The 70's and 80's were not kind to Green Bay. The 1990's and Bret Favre rang in a new era for the Packers franchise, and under his leadership Green Bay won Super Bowl XXXI in 1996. If you are looking for a wealth of information about the Green Bay Packers, check out the Green Bay Packers Official Website at http://www.packers.com. It includes a history of team from the 1920's, through the 1960's Titletown heyday of the Lombardi era, up to and including the Favre era of the 1990's to the present.

Anubis summed it up pretty well. As I saw it in the 70's and 80's for the most part we had Wisconsin businessmen, on the board of directors and as president of the team, running the team. They did so with the attitude "that we are lucky to have a team" and "we don't want to lose the team", a real defensive approach. Bob Harlan changed that when he brought in Ron Wolf and gave him complete control of football operations. The attitude changed to "we want to win the Super Bowl" and that in turn lead to changes that strengthened the team both on and off the field.

It is well worth going to the Packer's official site. They have a rich and glorious history.

toronto, it is great to have you aboard. I love the Packers international interest and fans. Hope you can get down to Green Bay to see a game and the Packers Hall of Fame.

At times during the games at Lambeau Field I can see on TV that there are many fans that wear orange jackets and other orange clothes, I was wondering if this has any thing at all to do with the Packers.

Click to expand...

The blaze orange clothes are used in North America for big-game hunting. Fans at Lambeau often wear them to the games as they tend to be very warm as hunting seasons run from around October to December in North America. As the temperatures can be very cold during Wisconsin's fall and winter, some fans wear these clothes to the games for the warmth they provide.

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Anubis did avery good job indeed. This issue about the Blaze orange reminds me of some of my best vacations I used to be invited to deer hunting in Waupaca County by a great Wisconsin Gentlemen, one of the nicest fellows I have ever met, and it is Amazing Torontopack the kind of friendship that you can work during a hunting trip and the everlasting experiences that come from those trips, you see blaze orange all around kids wear it along with their dads while they are introduced into hunting, so Blaze Orange must be an esential part of the Wisconsin Wardrobe !!! and after hunting we stayed there for the Thanksgiving Family Dinner !!!!! Great Times !!!! :twisted: :lol: :wink: :joy:

Couple of points:
"big game hunting" in Wisconsin isn't elephants as the phrase implies, just the notorious white-tailed deer, now so abundant they are pests.

The current Packers Board of Directors is also full of businesspeople(including Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig), so that hasn't changed much. What happened in the '70's and 80's had more to do with trying to relive the Glory Days of Vince Lombardi's Packers of the '60's than anything else. The Board also was overly fiscally tight, and didn't allow the team to sign upper-echelon players.

The Packers finally cleaned house on the Board of Directors and hired Bob Harlan to run the club. He recognized the Lombardi revisited approach had to go, better personnel decisions had to be made and he hired a guy named Ron Wolf who brought the Packers to the modern era.